House Projects: What’s Next
We’re making progress with jacking up the house – the middle of the house is where we want it, so on Sunday, Steven cut off the ends of the crappy joists in the basement and put in solid blocking.
Per (purr? ha ha) usual, Data likes to help with our projects, by observing me prying up the floor so Steven can fit in the blocking from the basement side:
and by stepping in front of the (borrowed) laser when measuring for levelness:
Disco Data!
We’re slowly getting there! We still have replace those two joists eventually. Baby steps!
And, on to a new project! Fun fact – we haven’t had any insulation in our attic since April! It was part of our FHA 203k streamlined work to have the old insulation removed, the attic cleaned and new insulation put in. However, there was so much damage from animals in our attic, we told the crew NOT to put the new insulation in. Why put brand new insulation in over a ceiling, ducts, and conduit, etc., extremely soiled by animal droppings? Yuck!
We planned to do it ourselves after cleaning out the attic (which we did on July 16) and taking down the ceiling in the second floor and installing a new one. However, when the bank came to take pictures of the work done so they could pay for the rest of the FHA 203k work, and saw that the insulation was not in, they said it HAS to be in for them to give the contractors that final payment. Okay, then.
So, the contractors will be back in August to put in new insulation. However, before they do that, we will:
- Remove EVERYTHING from our second floor (and sleep on the first floor)
- Tear out the second floor attic
- Install new ductwork, returns, etc. in the attic (yay! our old ones are so retro!)
- Install new lighting in the attic (yay! they’ll meet fire code!)
- And probably other stuff I am forgetting.
Then the contractors will come and put the new drywall ceiling up, spray “kilz” primer, cover any holes to the exterior, install new baffles, install new plywood in our secret secret attic, etc. etc.
After they do that, we’re going to put a catwalk (like this) up in the attic, so we can still get around up there after they put the insulation in. Then, they’ll come back in put the insulation in.
And hopefully after ALL THAT, it won’t sometimes smell barn-y in our upstairs, and the heat will be a little bit better regulated. Oh yes, and eventually, we will paint our new drywall ceiling. SHOULDER WORKOUT!!!!
Yay! August is THE MONTH to be in your attic! Muah ha ha.
Themocracy
Wow that is a lot of stuff!!! I donno how u are dealing with all this even tho I’m sure parts of it are fun..I’m moving on Saturday and cannot stand the mess and everything being in boxes.
Luckily, I don’t think it will be too bad to move all of our stuff downstairs. We’ve done that so many times now, lol!
Dude. Zomg. That is super intense!! And in August… oh boy, you are brave 🙂 🙂
Yeah, hopefully it won’t be too bad since we can access the attic from underneath with the ceiling missing! Fingers crossed!
I’m just blown away by the amount of work you guys are doing on your house, and even more so, how much of it is DIY! Your dedication to making your place exactly how you want it (and, you know, level and code-compliant. Haha.) is SO impressive! If I ever buy a fixer-upper, I’m calling you to help me haha 🙂
Thanks 🙂 Steven wanted a house like this (he actually wanted something MORE rundown!) and is totally in his element doing all this work!!! We’ll totally be on call, lol!
O.M.G.
I think you and Steven should have your own DIY reality show. It would be amazing to actually see all the stuff you’re doing.
Aww, thanks! Maybe I should start a Youtube channel (jk, no idea how to make videos and I dislike watching them myself although… that is how Steven learns to do a lot of this stuff!).
Disco Data rocks 🙂
It is nice hubby is handy…
that sounds like a huge project but you are making great progress. I could use your skills in my attic!
Disco Data was NOT helpful last night when I was supposed to be watching the laser (for movement) and he kept stepping in front of it! Ha!
What do you guys need to do in your attic?
new insulation…
and I have a list of 9 million other things that are in need of fixing too lol
Wow, I am amazed with your dedication to doing all of this on your own. Me, I would have hired someone or bought a house that required minimal to no work.
Sure looks like Data likes to be helpful.
Thanks 🙂 Steven likes doing as much of it as he can on his own 🙂
Oh Data. He does like to be involved with EVERYTHING.
That photo of Data and the laser totally confused me. I thought he was wearing glowsticks.
Gah, home ownership is intense! I don’t really understand all of the attic work you listed, and I can’t believe you were raising the house by yourself.